Saturday, September 24, 2011

Hopping Around: "Vhegan-Lawag-PagoodFood 1"

Disclaimer: I am perfectly aware that this post is a bit late. (obviously)But hey, give me a break... I only started blogging last month and this happened last April. Besides, this trip is definitely blog-worthy.

It was two weeks before the Holy Week of 2011, my younger bro and I were thinkin' of having a feel-good vacation after a whole year of working our butts off... and the idea of Vigan appears to be a very tempting. So, we started surfing the net for a nice place to stay in Vigan, Ilocos Sur but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how things will end up) all the best hotels were already fully booked ( I guess two weeks in advance is just too late).

Anyways, we did not lose hope and continued to look for something that would fit are budget (as if that's necessary...). Then we came across this package tour for Vigan, Laoag and Pagudpud and we thought "Since we are already at the far north of the Philippines, why not maximize the travel?." The only problem was the package requires atleast 8 pax to push through on a reasonable amount. But then again, what's the use of my little black magic (that I have mastered through time...)? <evil laugh>

To make the long story short, it worked and I have managed to gather 6 other individuals (talking about perfect numbers). So, we have me, my younger bro-JB, my cousin-MJ, her partner-Brian, my college friends Jemma, Than and Faith, and lastly IG (aka Badette)-Faith's older sistah.

We decided to meet at Partas Bus Liner Terminal-Pasay on Wednesday night to start our 6-hour land trip from Metro Manila to Vigan.

The bus left around 11pm in the evening and almost immediately, we looked for our assigned seats and feel a little comfy-comfy.

We arrived in Vigan closely after 5am the next day... and although slightly sleepy and tired from the long travel we still managed to pose for a smile while we are waiting for our sundo to start our tour.

Shortly after our sundo arrived, we started our holiday trip to the tee. And what could be the most perfect place to kick it off??? Calle Crisologo... right?If there's a pageant for streets in the Philippines, probably Calle Crisologo will bag the sash for the most photogenic...

We also have some photo opt infront of the Vigan Cathedral...

Before we proceeded to our next stop, we had an ilocan breakfast at Max's...

Full and satisfied, we went to the next part of our tour- the Vigan Pottery! (Harry Potter mode na!) We were taught to make a vase from mud using a potter's wheel. Most of us were first timers but we sure can mold that mud...(it looks easy but believe me its not)!

Ofcourse, another smozing (smiling and posing) would not hurt...

We graced several local museums as well...

The famous (or infamous for some...) Baluarte ni Chavit was our next destination. The mini zoo with lots of rare animals was amazing... (first time kong makakita ng reindeer at camel...eeee)

Pretty much that's what we had in Vigan... After some pasalubong shopping, we then drove our way to the virtually second part of our tour..."Laoag!" (hoothoothoot)